Review Blog

Jan 19 2017

Shield by Rachael Craw

Walker Books Australia, 2016, ISBN 9781922179647
(Age: Secondary) Recommended. Science fiction. Future. Dystopian
fiction. 'Love, freedom and future, in a final attempt to right the
wrongs of the Affinity Project and save her family' (New Zealand
author, Rachael Craw's elevator pitch for Shield says it
all) as the third volume in the Spark trilogy continues the
story of Evie (Evangeline Everton) who begins to develop powers
beyond her imagination. She finds that she is part of a genetic
experiment called the Affinity Project, where a synthetic gene has
been implanted to produce the perfect soldier, but she rebels. In
the second book, Stray, the Affinity Project wants to take
Evie back to control her, forcing her to do the work she had been
genetically manipulated to do, even if innocent people must die.
Evie is forced to take sides in a struggle with the Affinity Project
which ends with her being held in a psych ward, and the third, Shield,
has Evie sent back to the Affinity Project for retraining. Here she
is resented after what happened in book two, and is forced to take
sides once again to survive. But she has secrets and after
Counsellor Knox takes a blood sample she knows it will not be long
before he works out what she is. Knox is wrestling for power within
the Affinity Project, using Evie as a tool to undermine those who
would bring him down. She eventually finds a group trying to
initiate change but she is forced to make some decisions in the face
of fierce opposition.
The series is a heart stopping sci-fi thriller. Set in a complex
dystopian society with a little romance and sympathetic characters,
this fast paced tale will appeal to many teens.
Fran Knight